IBA is essentially the delivery of short simple brief advice following Identification (i.e screening) not usually lasting longer than 5-10 minutes. Our team can then advise and signpost you to support available to re-think your drink.
Local services can be found on the Health in Herts website (click here) or via Drinkaware.co.uk

Chlamydia is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection which is treatable. It’s passed on from one person to another through unprotected sex (sex without a condom). It is most common in young people aged 16- 24.Therefore, young people who are sexually active, should be screened. We offer FREE chlamydia screening for under 24s.

Most people who have chlamydia do not notice any symptoms, and therefore, do not know they have it. If you do get signs or symptoms, these usually appear between one and three weeks of having unprotected sex with an infected person.

It may be any of the following:

In women

• Unusual vaginal discharge
• Need to urinate more often
• Pain while having sex or urinating
• Lower abdominal pain or cramps
• Bleeding after sex or bleeding between periods

In men

• Discharge from penis which is clear or cloudy
• Pain or burning sensation while urinating
• Irritation at the tip of the penis
• Painful and swollen testicles ( balls)

If chlamydia is left untreated in women, it can spread to the womb, and can result in complications such as infertility pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy (baby grows outside the womb), early miscarriage or premature birth.

In men it can cause complications such as painful infection in the balls (testicles), epididymitis, inflamed prostate and reduced fertility.

Chlamydia Screening

This test is pain free, simple and confidential.

Simply come in and ask about the service. One of our staff will take you into our private consultation room, show you the form to fill in and explain the process and will give you a urine sample pot.  You can then take your urine sample at home and send via post to the lab.

The lab will test it and send you the result by whichever method you ticked on the form, whether it be a text message, email or letter.

If you have a positive result, do not worry. Chlamydia infections are treatable.

Chlamydia Treatment

We offer FREE chlamydia treatment for anyone between the ages of 12-24 years who have a positive chlamydia test. We also treat partners of patients with a positive chlamydia screening from above 12 years of age. You will get a confidential consultation with our Pharmacist who will then provide treatment if needed.

Chlamydia is usually treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics are very effective for treating chlamydia. There are two antibiotics that are used to treat chlamydia:

• Azithromycin (a single dose)
• Doxycycline (usually two capsules daily for one week)

You should not have sex for at least one week after you have finished your treatment. You may need to avoid having sex for longer if your sexual partner has not been treated so that you do not become re-infected. If you test positive for chlamydia, it’s important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners (within past 6 months) are also tested and treated.

You may need emergency contraception (EHC) to prevent an unexpected pregnancy, after unprotected sex or after the failure of a contraceptive method i.e. condom splitting during sex.

EHC is available either over the counter or, to some eligible patients, on the NHS.  After a comprehensive consultation in the privacy of our consultation room, our pharmacist will assess if it is appropriate for you to take and, if it is, which of the available medications will be suitable.

Most EHC should be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. The sooner you take it after a sexual episode, the higher the chance of the tablet being effective. The tablet does not protect you against pregnancy for the rest of your menstrual cycle and does not give any protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

If more than 72 hours after the sexual episode, there is other EHC available on prescription or via a specialist service can work for up to 120 hours. Our pharmacist can discuss this with you.

For links to the local services available please go to https://www.quadrantpharmacy.co.uk/health-in-herts/

Erection problems (impotence) are very common, particularly in men over 40. It's usually nothing to worry about, but you should see a GP if it keeps happening.

Most men occasionally fail to get or keep an erection.  Causes of erection problems can be stress, tiredness, anxiety or drinking too much alcohol, and it's nothing to worry about.

If it happens more often, it may be caused by physical or emotional problems.

Medicine such as sildenafil is often used by doctors to treat erectile dysfunction. It is also available from our pharmacy. You no longer need a prescription to get sildenafil.  You can have a private consultation with our pharmacist to make sure it's safe for you to take it.

Make life easier for yourself and let us order your prescription on your behalf. Simply let us know what repeat medicines you need, a few days before they run out and we will arrange to collect it from your Doctor's surgery. 

Medicines Use Review

A free NHS service to discuss your existing medicines and appliances with the pharmacist.

Meet with our pharmacist in the private consultation room to talk about:

• The medicines you are taking
• What they do
• How well they work for you
• How to get the most out of them

What is a Medicines Use Review (MUR)

A medicines use review is an appointment with one of our pharmacists to focus on how you are getting on with your medicines. It is an NHS service and you don’t need to pay for it.

The meeting is to:

• Help you find out more about the medicines you are taking
• Pick up any problems you are having with your medicines
• Improve the effectiveness of your medicines. There may be easier ways to take them, or you may find you need fewer medicines than before
• Get better value for the NHS- making sure that your medicines are right for you prevents unnecessary waste

Our pharmacist will have questions to ask you, and may suggest changes to your medicines. You may have concerns or questions that you want to ask. You can ask anything at all about your medicines.

Remember you can ask our pharmacist questions at any time, but a review will give you and us both more time to concentrate on you and your medicines.

How you may be offered a review:

Our pharmacist might invite you for a review either in person or in a letter through the post.

You can also ask our pharmacist for a review. You must have been getting your prescriptions from us for three months or more.

Is a medicines use review for you?

You can ask for a medicines use review if:

• You are regularly taking more than one prescription medicine
• You are taking medicines for a long term illness (like asthma, arthritis, diabetes or epilepsy

Our pharmacist will be happy to arrange a review meeting, and may even suggest it. Your doctor or nurse might also suggest that a review would be helpful.

Even if you are not in either of these groups, you can ask our pharmacist for advice at any time.

If there is an urgent problem with medicines, don’t wait for a medicines use review. If you or somebody else, notice one of the things on this list, don’t delay:

• If you have taken too much of any medicine
• If you have an allergic reaction to a new medicine (such as wheezing, rash, swelling or fainting)
• If you notice a serious side effect or any unusual symptoms
• If you notice your health getting worse

In any of these cases, talk to a doctor or pharmacist straight away.

What you can expect in the review meeting

Our pharmacists have undergone special training and have been assessed to make sure they have the right knowledge and skills to provide this service.

The meeting is confidential:

• We have private consultation rooms in our pharmacies where you sit down together with the pharmacist and can’t be overheard by customers or staff
• Your details and your discussion will be kept private. You can talk openly and your questions or worries will be listened to. Only you and your GP will normally receive a record of the meeting

Our pharmacist will listen and help:

• We will be ready to hear your concerns and your questions. You can be open with us and say whatever you want in these meetings
• Our pharmacists will only know about medicines that you have received from our pharmacy. We will not have a record of prescriptions you may have picked up from another pharmacy. We will not have your medical history or details about your illness. So it’s important to tell us as much as you can

What happens afterwards?

• Everything may be okay with your medicines and nothing else will need to happen
• You will be given an action plan which will include any changes you have agreed in the way you take your medicines. This will be filled in by our pharmacist during the review
• A copy of the Action Plan will go to your doctor and be kept with your medical notes
• Our pharmacist may recommend a change to your prescription. You will have a note of this in the Action Plan. Both you and your doctor will need to agree on any changes to your prescription, so you may be asked to make an appointment with your doctor to discuss these. No changes will be made against your will

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It is important that you take the right dose of your prescribed medicines at the right time each day to get the most from your medicines to control your condition(s) as much as possible. This can sometimes be difficult if you take more than one medicine. One way in which this can be made easier is for your medicines to be supplied in a Monitored Dosage System, which provides you with a separate compartment for each dosage time of the day.

A monitored dosage system (MDS) is a medication storage device designed to simplify the administration of solid oral dose medication, especially for those on multiple medications. It aims to address the issues of difficulty accessing medication due to sight impairment or other disability and/or forgetfulness.

MDS devices are usually a variation on the design of a box or a blister pack, divided into days of the week with several compartments per day to allow for the different timing of doses such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime.

 Our Pharmacist can help identify which patients this type of system would be suitable for.

MDS may be suitable for patients in the following circumstances:

• You struggle to organise medications and find it difficult to remember to take them at the correct time each day
• You have a large number of medications to take each day
• You find it difficult to remove medication from its packaging
• You have a carer who helps you to ensure you take your medicines correctly.
  

Ask a member of our pharmacy team about whether this service would benefit you or whether there is another course of action, which may be of more help.

We care about your long term health and if you are a smoker who wants to quit, but think you need help to kick the habit, our award winning Stop Smoking Service might be just what you are looking for. We have had many successes over the years and wish to help you kick the habit.

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable deaths accounting for more than 80,000 deaths each year. One in two smokers will die from a smoking related disease. If you could see the damage you would stop.

Circulation

When you smoke, the poisons from the tar in your cigarettes enter your blood. These poisons in your blood then:

• Make your blood thicker, and increase chances of clot formation
• Increase your blood pressure and heart rate, making your hear work harder than normal
• Narrow your arteries, reducing the amount of oxygen rick blood circulating in your organs.

Together these changes to your body when you smoke increase the chance of your arteries narrowing and clots forming which could lead to heart attack and stroke.

Stomach

Smokers have an increased chance of getting stomach cancer or ulcers. Smoking is a significant risk factor for developing kidney cancer and the more you smoke the greater the risk.

Skin

Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to your skin. This means your skin ages more quickly and looks grey and dull. The toxins in your body also cause cellulite. Smoking prematurely ages your skin by between 10 and 20 years increasing wrinkling particularly around the eyes and mouth. The only way to prevent further deterioration is to stop smoking.

Bones

Smoking can cause your bones to become weak and brittle predisposing to brittle bones (osteoporosis).

Brain

Smokers are more likely to have a stroke than someone who doesn’t smoke. Within two years of stopping smoking your risk of stoke is reduced to half that of a smoker and within five years it will be the same as a non-smoker.

Lungs

Your lungs can be very badly affected by smoking. Coughs, colds, wheezing and asthma are just the start. Smoking can cause fatal diseases such as pneumonia emphysema, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. You can slow down the progression of some of the diseases by stopping smoking.

Mouth and throat

Smoking causes unattractive problems such as bad breath and stained teeth and can cause gum disease and damage your taste.

Reproduction

Smoking can cause male impotence as it damages blood vessels that supply blood to the penis. It can also damage sperm and cause testicular cancer. For women smoking reduces fertility. One study estimated the fertility of smoking women was 72% of that of a non smoker. Smoking also increases the risk of cervical cancer. Smoking while pregnant can lead to miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth and illness and increases cot death by 25%.

The good news is you can stop smoking and we are here to help.

We recommend you consider getting a flub jab If you don't qualify for an NHS vaccination but are:

• susceptible to colds and chest infections
• are self employed and unable to afford time off work
• would like to protect yourself from flu during peak season

This service is available on a walk in basis without an appointment and there is a charge but please call the pharmacy first.

If you’re thinking of giving up smoking, you are four times more likely to succeed if you use a stop smoking product and get advice and support.

We can offer a FREE NHS private consultation with a trained member of Pharmacy staff. They will discuss your cravings, talk to you about what you’ve tried before and what products might be best for you. We can offer a structured programme with Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) or medications such as Champix® (Varenicline) when appropriate and when indicated.

We can help you quit smoking for good

As a health care professional, your Pharmacist and the team is ideally placed to help you through the quitting process from advice and tips on how to break the habit and also guidance on NRT products, such as gum, patches, the use of Electronic Cigarettes or other medications to help you when the urge just gets too much.

We can talk you through a quit plan in confidence and help advise you on the best method for success in quitting smoking. It’s never too late to see health benefits from quitting and we can outline the great advantages of giving up.

Advice from our Pharmacist and the team on quitting smoking is completely free and we will be happy to help in any way we can so that you can quit with confidence. Please visit us in-store or contact us for further details

NHS Go Smoke Free campaign.

The NHS Go Smoke Free campaign is a great source of information for quitting smoking. please see some of the links below for more information.

What happens when you quit smoking – Quitting timeline

Supervised Administration

Supervised administration is a service for “Blue Script” patients with prescribed medicines for the treatement and management of opiate dependence and other specialist conditions.

If you would like to use this service, please ask to speak to the Pharmacist in the consulting room and they will be happy to discuss this with you.

This service is provided in complete confidence in our private consulting room. Please remember, your Pharmacist is a medical professional and they are there to help you with complete professionalism and     physeptone[1] confidence.

Pharmacies will offer a user friendly, non-judgmental, client centred and confidential service.

The Pharmacy will provide support and advice to the patient, including referral to primary care or specialist centres where appropriate.

Going abroad and need to know which vaccinations you require or need advice on precautions?

We provide travel consultations with experienced staff who will assess the impact of any pre-existing medical conditions on your vaccine requirements. Our competitive pricing and easily accessible location makes us your first choice for all your travel needs

• Expert Travel Consultation
  
• Hajj and Umrah
• Full range of vaccines in stock including ACWY
• Anti-malarials dispensed on site
• Walk In or Book Over the phone
• We offer a wide range of services at competitive prices
• Our friendly team comprises of healthcare experts including pharmacists

Walk in for a free travel health consultation in our designated private consultation rooms today. We look forward to welcoming you and helping you with all your travel healthcare needs.

Altitude Sickness - the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is the negative health effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. Symptoms may include headaches, vomiting, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and dizziness.

Cholera – Common in Africa, Central America and Asia, cholera is an infection spread by bacteria in contaminated food and water.

Diphtheria, Poliomyelitis and Tetanus - This diphtheria, polio and tetanus vaccine may also be recommended if you're travelling to an area of the world where there is a high risk of contracting these diseases, or poor access to medical care, and you haven't had a booster in the last ten years.

Hepatitis A – Contaminated faecal matter spreads hepatitis A, a disease often caught via infected food and water and common across in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Hepatitis B – Unprotected sex is usually responsible for hepatitis A infection, along with sharing needles, visiting dirty tattoo parlours, unhygienic barbers shops and nail salons. It’s common in both undeveloped and developed countries.

Japanese Encephalitis – Spread by mosquitoes, there’s no cure for this disease found across South East Asia, Japan, and tropical regions of Australia. There are also occasional epidemics in China and India.

Malaria – A highly dangerous disease spread by infected mosquitoes, malaria is common in the equatorial tropics and subtropics.

Meningitis; ACWY Vaccination for Hajj or Umrah – A bacterial infection, this disease tends to be commonest in sub-Saharan Africa. But it’s also sometimes found where it’s crowded and where there’s imperfect hygiene, for example universities and army camps. 

Rabies – Infected animal and human bites and scratches spread this awful disease, which is particularly common in Thailand, Brazil and India.

Tick-borne Encephalitis – A tick-borne virus found in eastern, northern and central Europe as well as eastern Russia, east Asia, China and Japan.

Typhoid – Bacteria are responsible for this infection and it’s found throughout the world, a risk wherever sanitation and hygiene are poor.